Unbeknownst to us, Markie has developed a knack for nutrition and now has a career teaching healthy cooking classes.

Just in time for Black History month, the event aims to raise funding for the expansion of Brighton’s3 Scoops Ice Cream Parlor, where Del Torro acts as a menu consultant. The cafe is hoping to broaden its offerings and begin serving healthful, savory soul food classics. The cooking competition will be much like its televised inspiration: a secret ingredient, one hour to prepare the dishes, and a panel of expert judges.

I spoke with Chef Wheeler about his vegan tendencies, D’Jango Unchained, and asked whether Biz is a threat in the kitchen or if he really is, “Just a Friend.”

“I want to break the misconceptions about the vegan diet, the vegan attitude. I’m not a little hipster—I’m a bigger guy,” Del Torro says. He explains that especially today, there are numerous cooking techniques that make consuming meat no longer necessary.

“By enhancing the natural flavor of vegetables with spices and ingredients like truffles, you create healthy dishes that give you energy.”

Describing his style as a twist on soul food and American comfort food, he tells me about “veganizing” dishes that appear on other restaurants menus, such as Red Rooster’s fried yard bird chicken. In addition to putting his interpretation on dishes from today, he’s currently writing a D’jango Unchained-influenced e-cookbook.

But what about Biz?

“Biz has always been interested in healthy eating. Being on tour, he learned to make eating healthy a priority, to stay conscious of his eating,” he explains. “But he’s at a severe disadvantage.”

Describing his style as a twist on soul food and American comfort food, he tells me about “veganizing” dishes that appear on other restaurants menus, such as Red Rooster’s fried yard bird chicken. In addition to putting his interpretation on dishes from today, he’s currently writing a D’jango Unchained-influenced e-cookbook.

But what about Biz?

“Biz has always been interested in healthy eating. Being on tour, he learned to make eating healthy a priority, to stay conscious of his eating,” he explains. “But he’s at a severe disadvantage.”